Ted Chiang

Ted Chiang is an American science fiction writer whose work has garnered wide acclaim. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including four Nebula Awards, four Hugo Awards, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and six Locus Awards. He has published two short story collections: Stories of Your Life and Others (2002) and Exhalation (2019).

His short story "Story of Your Life" was the basis for the Academy Award-winning film Arrival (2016). He was an artist in residence at the University of Notre Dame from 2020 to 2021. He is also a frequent non-fiction contributor to The New Yorker, where he writes thoughtfully on topics related to computing such as artificial intelligence.

We first encountered Mr. Chiang's story "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" during the pandemic, and we were immediately spellbound by its elegance and heart. From the very moment you begin to read it, time seems to stop and everything else fades away as you are drawn into the story. Could we bring this magical experience to our readers in Japanese, we wondered? We became entranced with the idea of creating an adaptation set in historical Japan. When Mr. Chiang graciously granted us permission to adapt his work, we were deeply honored and humbled by the trust he had placed in us.

We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Ted Chiang, as well as to the team at Janklow & Associates, who patiently worked with us to make this adaptation possible. Thank you to Kirby Kim, Eloy Bleifuss, Lianna Blakeman, Kate Splaine, Michael Steger, and Lansing Clark. And thank you to Moira Macdonald for making the initial introduction. It is our sincere hope that this adaptation serves not only as as a bridge for learners of Japanese, but also as a gateway for many new readers into the extraordinary work of Ted Chiang.